During World War
II USS Harris (AP-8) was first assigned to the European
Theater and later to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater participating in the
following campaigns:

Reclassified as an
Attack Transport(APA-2), 1 February 1943

USS Harris
(APA-2) participated in the following Asiatic-Pacific Theater
campaigns:

Harris
(AP-8) was built in 1921
by Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Corp., Sparrows Point, Md. She served as a passenger
ship, Pine Tree State, and was renamed President
Grant in 1922. She
operated to the Orient for American Orient Line, later American
Mail Line, and was one of America's
fastest and best Pacific liners until the introduction
of newer ships in the thirties. President Grant
was idled by the 1936-37
Maritime strike, and lay at
Seattle until being taken over by the Navy from the Maritime
commission 17 July 1940. Converted to a troopship
at Todd's Seattle yard, she was renamed Harris and commissioned
19 August 1940, Lt. A. M. Van Eaton in command.

Harris
spent the first few
months of her commissioned service
carrying troops to Pearl Harbor and acting as a troop
training ship at San Diego. She sailed 13 April 1942
for the South Pacific, carrying Marines to occupy strategic
points outside the Japanese perimeter of conquest.
Her task group arrived Wallis Island 31 May 1942
and unloaded troops for the defense of the New Caledonia
area. Harris then returned to the United States and
operated out of Monterey Bay, Calif., in amphibious training.
This vital work was completed 22 August 1942, and
she sailed from San Diego for Norfolk.

After suffering collision damage which
necessitated her drydocking until
14 October, Harris loaded troops at Norfolk
to begin training for landings in North Africa. She departed
23 October with the Southern Attack Force, and acted
as flagship for the transport force. This invasion, skillfully
executed, increased the pressure on Axis forces in
Africa, and prepared a springboard for invasion of Southern Europe. Harris
arrived offshore early on 8 November 1942 and after Bernadou
and Cole boldly entered
the harbor with raider forces, debarked her Army troops to consolidate
the landing. One of the first transports to complete
disembarkation, Harris returned to Norfolk
13 November.

She
got underway 5 December with combat troops for the Pacific, arriving San
Diego 17 December. There she trained and was redesignated APA-21 before
sailing from San Francisco for Alaska 24 April IMS to take part in the recapture
of Attu.

Harris
arrived Cold Harbor 30
April and 4 days later shaped
course for the barren Aleutian Island. She skillfully
debarked her troops during the assault 11 May. She remained
in the Adak-Dutch Harbor area until 10 June 1943,
when she returned to San Diego. After training off
California, Harris and other ships of the Northern Pacific
Force sailed 29 July for the occupation of another Aleutian
Island, Kiska. Landings were made without opposition
15 August, as the Japanese had evacuated under cover of fog. Harris
completed her unloading by 21 August
and returned to San Francisco 31 August

As United States power mounted in the
Western Pacific Harris sailed 8 September for New Zealand via
Noumea. Arriving Wellington on 30
September, she loaded Marines and
trained out of Wellington and Efate, New Hebrides, until
13 November 1943. Harris then sailed with the Southern Attack
Force for the invasion of Tarawa, Gilbert
Islands, as the Navy began its resistless push across Micronesia
to Japan. Harris arrived the day after the initial
landings on 20 November. Despite fire from shore batteries
she discharged her troops and cargo during the days
that followed. She remained off the stubbornly defended
island caring for casualties and unloading until 2 December,
when she sailed for Pearl Harbor.

Arriving Pearl Harbor 14 December
1943, Harris took part in
amphibious drills for the next step toward Japan, the
invasion of the Marshalls. She sailed 22 January 1944
and arrived off Kwajalein 31 January. After a week of bloody
fighting in this highly successful assault troops and casualties were
reembarked on board Harris 8 February
and arrived Pearl Harbor 15 February. .
Harris sailed to San Pedro for needed repairs, and returned
to Pearl Harbor 9 May 1944. She immediately began
loading troops and equipment for another important
Pacific operation, the invasion of the Marianas. She
arrived off Saipan 16 June, one day after the initial landings,
and remained in the transport area until 20 June.
With the Marianas won, and Japanese air power dealt
a crippling blow in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Harris sailed
for Eniwetok, arriving 24 June.

The
veteran transport returned to the Hawaiian Islands
and the Solomons 21 July to 8 September, in order to
prepare for the next assault. She then sailed from Guadalcanal for the
invasion of the Palaus, wanted as staging
bases for later air attacks. Harris conducted a diversionary
landing 15 September on Babelthuap while the
main forces stormed Peleliu, and after standing ready with her reserve
troops for several days, sailed for Ulithi. Arriving 23 September, Harris
put her troops ashore to occupy
this atoll, ideal for a fleet anchorage, and departed 2 days
later for Manus.

The invasion of the Philippines
followed. Harris embarked
elements of the 1st Cavalry Division and sailed for
Leyte Gulf 12 October. After having to leave the formation
temporarily to free her paravane from a dangerous
live mine, Harris regained position and unloaded her
troops and cargo, 20 October. Following the decisive Battle
for Leyte Gulf, Harris took on board survivors of the
gallant fight off Samar between heavy Japanese forces and
light U.S. carriers and destroyers. She departed 28 October,
arriving Guam 3 days later, and returned to Leyte Gulf with
reinforcements. Harris then sailed forGuadalcanal
and Bouganville for additional troops and spent December 1944 in landing
exercises in Huon Gulf.

Harris
departed Manus 31
December to rendezvous with
the assault forces steaming toward Lingayen Gulf. The convoys
encountered some of the heaviest air attacks of the war en route, and Harris's
gunner were busy, especially 8
to 9 January 1945, the days immediately preceding
the assault. She debarked her troops under heavy
smoke screen, and departed for Leyte Gulf. Here she
embarked more landing forces that she soon landed at La
Paz without opposition as the invasion of Luzon gathered
momentum. She returned to Leyte Gulf 1 February.

Loading
again, Harris prepared to take part in the final step
in the steady drive to victory, the invasion of Okinawa.
She sailed 27 March and arrived offshore for the
initial landings 1 April, a member of Bear Admiral Hall's
Southern Attack Force. Fierce enemy suicide attacks soon developed, and
again Harris's gunners fought off numerous attacks as ships
around her were hit. She completed her unloading under these hazardous
conditions by 3 April and departed for Pearl Harbor 6
April.

Harris
continued to San
Francisco, arriving 30 April, but
soon returned to the fighting, bringing fresh troops to
Okinawa 28 May. After another round trip from Pearl
Harbor to Okinawa, the ship arrived Ulithi 10 August,
having narrowly missed the great August typhoon.

Assigned
to assist in carrying occupation troops to Japan,
Harris sailed to the Philippines 17 August, and arrived
Tokyo Bay 8 September. After disembarking her troops Harris made
another voyage to Samar for occupation
troops, finally departing Japan 12 October. The ship
made its final occupation voyage to Taku, Bar, China, helping
to stabilize the volatile situation there, and sailed 16
November for Guam and the West Coast.

Harris
transited the Panama
Canal, arrived Boston 2 February
1946 and decommissioned 16 April. She was sold
to American Ship Breakers, Inc., 20 July 1948 and scrapped.
Harris received ten battle stars for World War
II service.